The war begins

"Hey buddy don't I remember you from that party?" Michael asked, cheerfully as he approached the guards in the lobby.

"Sir I'm going to have to ask you to leave right now, I have no idea who you are," said the guard, cautiously approaching him, while the one at the desk watched the exchange carefully.

"Oh come on, that party where David got super drunk and fought a goat, you remember that right?"

"Sir, you are not allowed to…."

Michael grabbed his extended arm, flipped him up and over before ramming him into the ground and punching him in the face knocking him out. Michael then spun around with his pistol in hand, firing two bullets into the guard at the desk.

He leapt over the front desk, took out the thumb drive and inserted it into the computer.

"Anything?"

"No, this isn't networked like the others," Monika replied, through the communicator in his ear. "I'm thinking somewhere higher up would be a better choice."

Michael grabbed one of the keycards from the dead guard along with ammunition before heading into the elevator. He got inside, pressed a button and slowly headed to the second floor. The elevator dinged, followed by the door opening, to reveal a trio of guards standing in the hallway.

The trio were momentarily surprised by this while Michael smiled at them then hugged the wall on the side to avoid the slew of bullets they sent his way. Once they were done, he ran out of the elevator and shot two bullets into the guard on his left, kicked him into the guard before him then moved aside to avoid the bullets from the guard on his right. Michael then took out his knife and with one swing of his right hand, he landed a cut on the guard's right hand, causing him to drop the gun.

Michael then kicked the falling gun into the guards face as he turned around to shoot at the guard in-front of him before throwing his knife into the guard on his right and watched him fall to the ground. He yanked the blade from the guard, noted that he was on the accounts floor and sighed. From the look of things, there was no computer here which meant he'd have to go higher. He turned around, heading to the elevator, only to have it suddenly jerk to the side before falling down and crashing into the ground floor.

"That was close," muttered he, to himself. Seeing as elevators were no longer an option, he headed to the stairs. He quietly opened the door, then looked up and saw a large squad of agents coming down towards him.

He ran up the stairs, shooting the first guard then catching his body and using it to ram into the guard behind him. The three went up the stairs and Michael quickly shot the guard on his right before shooting the guard before him in the head. He let go of the two dead bodies and ducked down to avoid fire from some of the guards above. Michael leaned over the railing, shooting back at them but his pistol ran out of bullets. He then switched to his assault rifle ran up even more stairs and shot at everyone coming his way till he kicked one guard in the chest, sending him through a door. Michael got onto the fifth floor, saw the sign and smiled.

I.T

He quickly located a terminal, plugged the thumb drive into the computer then asked "you in?"

"Got it," Monika replied then paused for a second and said "I found him Michael."

"Take him down gorgeous," Michael said, with a smile and left the cubicle.

He now noticed ten guards had surrounded him. Rather than use their guns, they all took out riot batons. Michael understood and took out his knife. The two sides stared at each other for a moment before one guard charged Michael head on.

Rather than counter his attack, he quickly leapt back, landing onto the guard behind him and sent him into the ground. Michael immediately stabbed him in the neck then got up and got a kick to the chest from the nearest guard. He staggered back a little, held his hands up to block another guards baton but it still hurt him. A third guard quickly kicked him in the stomach while the fourth punched him in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Michael quickly leapt back up, landing multiple stabs on the guard closest to him then turned around to deflect an attacker's stick with his knife and quickly retaliate with a sweeping kick that knocked him off balance. Michael had no time to react and paid for it when one guard landed a heavy blow on his head with the metal stick but it did not force Michael to the ground. Seeing this, the others charged at him but he quickly moved aside and dodged them all. He quickly headed into one of the cubicles, leaping onto the desk, grabbed a mug and flung it at the one guard that was nearly over the cubicle wall then turned and kicked the guard that just entered. Another guard came at him but Michael dodged his punches and swings then stabbed him in the chest a couple of times before kicking him into the group behind.

He blocked the attacker on the left, bent down and landed two deep cuts on his legs, causing him to fall down. Before Michael could get up he stabbed the two guards that were pinned by their dead buddy. Again he moved back to avoid a swing from an attacker on his left then punched him in the guy, moved behind him to stab the guard then kicked the hunched over guard into the ground, before stabbing him in the feet and immobilizing him. Michael picked up the riot stick and looked at the three remaining guards.

The trio exchanged looks for a moment, clearly contemplating whether or not they wanted to do this. Logic gave way to bravado and the three of them quickly headed to the nearest exit. Michael took a moment to catch his breath and only then did he notice that one of the stabbed him in the side with a pair of scissors. He winced a little before yanking the scissors out of his side.

He looked ahead and saw one man dressed in a suit similar to him. However, instead of saying anything, the man simply gestured for Michael to follow him. Seeing as he had yet to find the Oculus, Michael had no other choice but to comply.

Fully expecting an ambush waiting for him, Michael followed the man to an open room on the sixth floor. The man took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves and stood ready to attack. There were a few computers on either side of him, but nothing else besides that.

Michael however noticed the large cylindrical device behind him, recognizing it almost instantly. All that now stood between him and Monika was this one brute, a problem that he intended on correcting right away. In a show of good faith, he threw his knife and stick aside and prepared himself.

"You know I never did get your name SAS guy," said he.

"Rory Wood," said he, "you know I should have killed you when I had the chance."

"Life is full of regrets, deal with it," Michael countered before darting towards Rory. The two met in the middle, attacking each other with a barrage of strikes but none of them landed. The two of them paused for a moment before attacking each other again. This time Michael added a few kicks but Rory backed away, dodging them. He quickly grabbed Michael by the foot planted on the ground and tackled him. Michael held his hands up to block the barrage of fists Rory sent his way. On seeing that his fists weren't enough, Rory then rammed his knee into Michael, causing the latter to let out a sudden gasp for air.

Rory capitalized on this by grabbing Michael by the neck, hoisting him up and tossing him into one of the computer tables. Michael groaned a little, kicking a nearby chair towards his opponent but Rory raised his leg up to stop the chair. Michael got up and saw Rory hovering in the air, with his fist arched back. He held both his hands up in time, but the force of the attack, pushed Michael back a little. He followed it up with a few kicks but Michael blocked them both then came forward, ramming his shoulder into Rory.

The former SAS trooper staggered a little then went on the offensive with a straight jab but Michael ducked it, drew closer and punched him in the chest. Rory staggered back again and this time, when he retaliated, he hit Michael on both ears which made him become dizzy. Rory took this opportunity to kick Michael in the chest then hit him twice in the stomach but Michael replied with a swinging kick to the side of the head that sent Rory barrelling into the ground.

Rory got up and attacked with a few jabs but Michael deflected them with his kicks. Rory came forward and Michael responded to the feint with a high kick. In that moment, Rory grabbed Michael by the leg and flung him into the wall of the room. Then he ran towards a downed opponent, leapt up to deliver a double kick to Michael's chest.

Michael grabbed Rory then lifted him up from the ground before ramming him back down. Rory replied by wrapping his body around Michael's left arm to try and separate the limb from the body and Michael replied by punching him in the face till Rory finally let go. The SAS however was not finished though as he attacked Michael with a barrage of kicks to the face, causing the latter to sluggishly stand up while a trail of blood came from his mouth.

The two of them stared at each other once again before charging forward, attacking with a flurry of kicks then took a step back. Rory charged forward, trying to tackle Michael but he moved aside and tripped him before ramming his elbow into Rory's back. Rory retaliated with a leg sweep but Michael leapt up and landed on his other foot, shattering the bone in his knee.

Michael did not give Rory a chance to get up as he immediately came upon him, wrapping his hands around his neck, slowly choking him. Rory swung his arms about in an effort to reach him but failed while Michael intensified his grip. He watched Rory continue to flail about a little more before finally becoming silent.

He still kept his grip on the SAS soldier, just to be sure he wasn't being faked out. After about a few minutes in silence, Michael was sure that Rory was dead which was why he slowly got up and left the body. He took a moment to collect himself, then found a computer and switched it on. From the look of things, the computer was already ready to bring transfer the object from one dimension to the other. All he needed to do was find the object in the virtual space which was not a problem at all.

Once the object was found, he started the transfer then stood up and waited. He watched two lasers construct the form from the feet first. Michael took this moment to examine his bloodied clothes and decided he needed to toss the suit. It would not look good for him to greet Monika looking like he lost a fight with a meat tenderizer.

Michael looked up when he heard the machine noise stop but his smile faded.

This was followed by a gun being fired three times and in all cases, they hit their target.